West Islander goes for National Crown in Miss Universe Canada Pageant

By Beryl Wajsman, Editor The Suburban

It may sound cliché, but sometimes it really does all come together. Refined beauty, piercing intelligence and a compassionate heart. That pretty much sums up 23-year old Pierrefonds native Megha Sandhu who is a finalist in the 2018 Miss Universe Canada Pageant to be held in August in Toronto. And don’t jump to political correctness and ask if she’s so smart why is she in a beauty contest. She finds no inconsistency in it.

Megha is as pleased and comfortable with her beauty as with her brains and has lived the reality that notoriety and celebrity help her make things better in this world. The contest’s scholarships and platform allow her to give added punch and broader voice to the things she cares about most. And she is quick to point out that of the four categories in the pageant, contestants’ humanitarian work and intelligent response to the interview questions count for as much as the poise and looks.

Megha has known the best of life and some of its toughest challenges. Her only sibling is a young adult with special needs. That led her into the study of behavioural neuroscience, a degree in which she just graduated with from Concordia. And yes, she has been a much-in-demand fashion model and part-time actress since her late teens and that work helped pay for some of her university costs.

She is no stranger to how important these contests are. In 2012 she was crowned Miss Teen World Canada and went on to finish in the top ten in the global competition of Miss Teen World. She believes that experience made her a stronger woman and taught her that ambition and femininity can go hand in hand, particularly when you are a visible minority.

While in her teens she began volunteering in public schools with special needs children and is determined to make a difference on a greater scale. After her victory in the Miss Teen Canada pageant, she felt her natural self-confidence re-inforced and — among other achievements — spoke in front of 20,000 young people at We Day Vancouver. That same year she travelled to Kenya, with Free the Children, to help build a primary school. She realized then what she instinctively felt, that pageants are a platform to not only achieve your own personal dreams but are a gateway to genuinely help and inspire others in need.

Megha is the Co-President & Co-Chair of the Montreal based VIVO Fund. The VIVO Fund organizes an annual charity fundraiser towards the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of the Jewish General Hospital to help fund and facilitate acute care and follow-up of premature newborns.

Over the past year she became involved in SOS Childrens Villages, an Austrian-based international charity that builds educational, care and housing facilities for children who have been orphaned or separated from their families in conflict zones. She has travelled to Central America with SOS staff and decided to make that area of the world her focus. This month she is hosting a fundraiser at her home for an SOS project in Nicarauga.

As a performer, Megha was trained at Straeon Acting Studios where she was coached in acting for film/television, camera and scene studies and is a member of ACTRA Montreal. Interest in acting came early for her and in her senior year at the then all-girl Villa Maria School, she played the lead role of Atticus Finch in “To Kill A Mockingbird.” Her recent work includes a stint at 24 Hour Plays where she co-wrote and conducted short comedy skits for local audiences and was featured in a commercial for VICHY Cosmetics. Megha also has a natural flair for accents and enjoys putting on comedy skits — she loves stand-up and has played a couple of venues — in her free time.

A surprising part of her fitness regimen is that she enjoys boxing for its confidence building. Adventurous doesn’t begin to describe her, particularly as she gets her “adrenaline kicks” from adventure sports like paragliding and cliff diving. There is a twist to the voting in the Pageant this year. Starting July 23rd you can go to the Miss Universe Canada website and vote up to four times per day per IP address. Though there will be 56 contestants — only three from Quebec — the winner with the most votes online automatically goes into the top twenty. Make a note to get it done. Megha Sandhu will make us all proud.

http://www.thesuburban.com/news/city_news/west-islander-goes-for-national-crown-in-miss-universe-canada/article_dd1af13e-4710-57c4-a3b2-9d982827cbcc.html